Delas : Domaine des Tourettes 2019

Characteristics and tasting tips for Domaine des Tourettes 2019 from Delas

Tasting

Appearance

The appearance unveils a deep, brilliant red hue, enhanced by garnet and purple highlights, witnessing beautiful chromatic intensity.

Nose

The nose is powerful and complex, expressing distinctive blackcurrant coulis accompanied by candied red fruit. Notes of herbs and spices blend harmoniously with elegant floral touches. Upon aeration, the bouquet evolves towards nuances of scorched earth, graphite, leather and smoked meat, a characteristic signature of great Hermitage wines.

Palate

The attack is full-bodied, full and enveloping. The palate reveals a beautiful intensity of cherry, blueberry and candied fruit cake flavors, lifted by a peppery touch adding depth. The tannic structure appears tight and well-integrated, without excessive astringency. The balance between acidity, alcohol and tannins is remarkable, leading to a persistent finish with spicy aromas of powdered and slightly roasted cocoa.

Food and wine pairings

Domaine des Tourettes 2019 is ideal with red meats served rare or medium-rare, game, marinated meats as well as spicy stews. It also pairs perfectly with rich, strong cheeses with extended aging.

Service and storage

This wine is best enjoyed at a temperature around 16°C. Decanting can be beneficial if the wine is tasted in its early years. Domaine des Tourettes 2019 can be kept for at least two decades under optimal conditions, with some examples capable of evolving favorably for three decades or more. It is advisable to wait four to five additional years before opening to allow the tannins to fully integrate.

A powerful and structured red Hermitage from the Rhône Valley

The estate

Founded in 1835 by Charles Audibert and Philippe Delas in Tournon-sur-Rhône, Maison Delas Frères is one of the references of the Northern Rhône Valley. Acquired in 1993 by the Rouzaud family, owners of Champagne Louis Roederer, the House has undergone a remarkable transformation since the arrival of oenologist Jacques Grange in 1997. Today managed by Marc Hoellinger and part of the Roederer Collection portfolio, Delas cultivates approximately thirty hectares of vineyards spread across the most prestigious Northern Rhône appellations, including ten hectares in Hermitage. The House distinguishes itself by a philosophy placing man and wine at the heart of the terroir, producing wines internationally recognized for their excellence.

The vineyard

Domaine des Tourettes comes exclusively from the Hermitage appellation, blending grapes from three distinct terroirs: L'Ermite, Le Sabot and the famous Bessards plot. The latter, located on steep slopes of solid granite, gives the wine a marked tannic structure and characteristic crystalline minerality. The south-west exposure of the Hermitage hill favors optimal heat accumulation allowing the Syrah to reach full phenolic maturity. The Rhône acts as a thermal moderator, tempering diurnal variations and contributing to climatic stability. The soils are composed of a complex combination of granite with Quaternary alluvial deposits and Pliocene marl, creating ideal conditions for the expression of the grape variety.

The vintage

The 2019 vintage benefited from generally favorable weather conditions in the Northern Rhône Valley. The season allowed the Syrah to reach optimal ripeness while preserving the acidic balance essential for the wine's gustatory complexity and remarkable aging potential.

Winemaking and ageing

The grapes for Domaine des Tourettes 2019 are harvested manually according to the appropriate degree of ripeness for each terroir, then entirely destemmed before winemaking. Fermentation takes place in open-top concrete vats of eighty-five hectoliters, allowing precise temperature control. A cold maceration of two to three days at temperatures between 28°C and 30°C precedes fermentation. Daily cap punching and pumping over are carried out for about twenty days. After draining, malolactic fermentation takes place in 228-liter Burgundian barrels. Ageing lasts fourteen to sixteen months, half in new barrels and half in one-year-old barrels, before blending and bottling.

Grape variety

100% Syrah